Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon- September 6

Explanation– Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories. These 12 nominated members appointed by the President of India are amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.  By adopting the principle of nomination in Rajya Sabha, the Constitution has ensured that the nation must also receive services of the most distinguished persons of the country who have earned distinction in their field of activity, many of whom may not like to face the rough and tumble of the election. A member nominated to the House by the President, is allowed to join a political party if he/she does so within the first six months of taking seat in the House. A member shall not be disqualified on this account, if he voluntarily leaves the membership of his political party after he is elected Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha.

Nominated members are exempted from filing their assets and liabilities unlike other members. Statement 1 is thus correct.

: If a bill has been rejected by any house of the parliament and if more than six months have elapsed, the President may summon a joint session for purpose of passing the bill. The bill is passed by a simple majority of a joint sitting. There is no such provision of Joint sitting with assemblies of state legislature. State legislatures have overriding powers on legislative councils. So if a bill has not been approved by legislative council separately, that bill can still become law because of legislative assembly power to override the council.

– In the light of the vision of Pandit Nehru, five Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Home minister s the chairman of all zonal councils.

The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;

The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;

The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal;

The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and

The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972. The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council and as such it is not a part of eastern zonal council. It was part of Eastern Zonal Council earlier.

The procedure of money bill is same in both Parliament and state legislature. Money bill can only be introduced in lower house and time limit in which upper house has to return money bill to lower house is 14 days in case of Parliament and state legislature.

The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.

The NGT has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environmental issues and questions that are linked to the implementation of laws listed in Schedule I of the NGT Act. These include the following:
1.The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
2.The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;
3.The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
4.The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;
5.The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;
6.The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
7.The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Zero hour is not recognised in any Lok sabha rules and Zero Hour doesn’t find a mention in the Rules of Procedure and hence it’s considered an informal procedure for the members of Parliament to raise matters of serious importance.

Whether answer to a question Starred on Unstarred needs elucidation on a matter of fact, any member can table a notice for raising Half-an-Hour Discussion. If the notice is admitted and gets priority in ballot such a discussion may be allowed by the Speaker. Normally such discussions are held on three days in a week, viz., Monday, Wednesday and Friday except in Budget Session when such discussion is not held till the financial business is completed. The discussion is normally held from 17.30 to 18.00 hrs. During the discussion, the member who has given notice makes a short statement and not more than four other members, who have given advance notice before 11.00 hours on the day on which discussion is to be held are permitted to ask a question each for further elucidating any matter of fact. Thereafter, the Minister concerned replies.